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Ground zero for my pumpkin mania is in the kitchen, where I like to make all kinds of hearty stews with fresh pumpkin (or winter squashes, which can easily be substituted).

The pumpkin-palooza doesn’t stop there. I also like to bring the stew to the table in a large, hot, roasted pumpkin tureen that not only draws ooh and ahhs from impressed eaters, but also offers them an extra scoop or two of cooked pumpkin and keeps the stew hot much longer than a ceramic tureen or serving dish.

The secret to creating the perfect pumpkin tureen is twofold. First, choose the right kind and size of pumpkin. Second, roast it just long enough so that the sides can be pierced with a fork but not so long that the whole thing collapses or slumps over. It needs to have enough solid structure to support your dinner.

Carving pumpkins and eating pumpkins are not interchangeable. Carving pumpkins have stringy, flavorless flesh with no sweetness. Eating pumpkins, on the other hand, have dense, firm flesh that tastes sweet and rich.

Any eating pumpkin or winter squash that, once carved out, is large enough to hold a couple quarts of stew and sits upright without risk of tipping is ideal. I have found that an 8- to 10-pound pumpkin is about the right size to hold a couple quarts of stew.

The most common edible pumpkin is a sugar or pie pumpkin, which run 3 to 5 pounds each. These work for any recipe, and the larger ones will also be suitable for your serving bowl, though frankly, they are not the most interesting of eating pumpkins or winter squashes, I have found.

For dramatic presentation, nothing beats the bright orange Cinderella, an heirloom pumpkin that is squat and steady and fairly easy to find at farmers markets and farm stands. A pale, heavily ribbed Long Island cheese pumpkin or a hefty Queensland blue squash are also good picks. (I know, I’m creeping into the squashes, but technically, winter squashes and pumpkins are in the same family known as Cucurbita, and in many cases, these squashes and pumpkins are interchangeable for cooking.)

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Names of pumpkins and squashes differ among seed companies and farmers, so it’s best to ask growers about a pumpkin’s eating qualities.

For making pumpkin stews, you have a lot more choices. Every one mentioned above is fine, as are giant Hubbard squashes (which are difficult to crack open; I suggest throwing it on your driveway from a ladder), turban squashes, long pie pumpkins (they are shaped like a bat, not a ball), teardrop-shaped red kuri squashes, and even butternut squashes, which are ubiquitous in grocery stores and at farm stands.

These three stew recipes are very forgiving, and having a little more or less pumpkin than the recipe calls for is no big deal.

MasSaman Curry Stew with Tofu and Cabbage

I adapted this recipe from a lamb curry recipe DeeDee Stovel had in her book, Pumpkin: A Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year (Storey, $12.95).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the 1 pound of fresh pumpkin into chunks and lightly rub oil on all surfaces. Place on baking sheet and roast for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the flesh is easily pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough until you can easily handle it. Peel and mash the pumpkin. You should have about 2 cups. If you have significantly more than that, you can save the rest in the refrigerator for a week or freeze it for up to three months.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the ginger, garlic and curry paste and cook one minute more, stirring constantly. Then add the apple, cabbage and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until cabbage is wilted. Add the tofu and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Just before serving, stir in cilantro and lime juice.

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Serve over steamed rice or couscous, and top with mango chutney, plain yogurt or toasted, shredded, dried coconut.

Makes 6 large main entree servings or 8 side-dish servings.

Spicy Beef Stew

From DeeDee Stovel’s Pumpkin: A Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year (Storey, $12.95).

Heat the butter and oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the meat, salt and pepper, and stir just to coat, not brown, the meat with the butter and oil.

Scatter the onions over the top of the meat.

Meanwhile, mix the wine, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar and garlic together and pour over meat and onions. Scatter the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, currants and cumin over the top. Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer very gently, covered, for two hours. There is no need to stir.

Gently press the pumpkin into the stew. Cover and continue cooking for one more hour or longer, until the meat is very tender.

Makes 6 servings.

Armenian Lamb Stew

From DeeDee Stovel’s Pumpkin: A Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year (Storey, $12.95).

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Combine the lamb with the coriander, cumin and cardamom in a small bowl. Add half the seasoned lamb to the pot in a single layer. Cook the meat for about 4 minutes, turning, until the lamb is lightly browned, and remove to a plate. Sprinkle with half the salt. Repeat with the remaining meat.

Add the onion to the pot and cook for 5 minutes, until wilted, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the pumpkin, carrots and celery root, and cook for 5 to 8 more minutes, stirring, until softened.

Return the lamb to the pot, along with broth, tomatoes, cloves and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered, for an hour. Add the apricots and cook for 30 more minutes.

Sprinkle with cilantro just before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Making a pumpkin serving bowl

Making a pumpkin serving bowl

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry the outside of a 5- to 10-pound cooking pumpkin. Cut off the top of the pumpkin (like you would with a jack-o’-lantern). Scoop out the seeds and pulp. Rub the inside and outside of the entire pumpkin, including the top, with canola or vegetable oil.

Place place pumpkin with top on in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the pumpkin. Remove the top and continue baking the bottom for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the inside can be pierced with a fork but is still sturdy and upright. Do not cook so long that the pumpkin starts to slump or collapse.

Remove from the oven, and carefully transfer the pumpkin to a serving platter. Fill the pumpkin with stew, put the top on and bring it to the table. When serving, scoop out some of the sides to get some cooked pumpkin along with the stew.

Pumpkin tips

Pumpkin tips

• When you buy fresh pumpkins, choose ones that feel heavy for their size and are free of cracks and major blemishes. You will inevitably have a side that is pale and flat, where the squash or pumpkin lay on the ground. Wash and scrub the outside of the pumpkin to get rid of any mud or dirt, and dry it well so when you start chopping, it won’t slip.

• To scoop the seeds out, nothing works better than a super-sturdy ice cream scoop.

• Peeling pumpkins with a vegetable peeler is a task for sado-masochists. Cut the squash in quarters or smaller, lay the cut side down on your cutting board and the slice away the skin.

• If your recipe calls for roasted pumpkin, then roast the flesh with the skin still on, then remove it after it’s cooked and cooled. Easy as pie.